Torn in Two
by Rockalocka
Summary: The decision to see the Red Data exhibit with her cousin while in Tokyo turns out to be more important than Ambrosia Aizawa could have ever imagined. She quickly learns how to use her abilities, but after her father passes away, she has to deal with a whole new problem called Kisshu. A Kisshu/O.C. fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

_Huh. This is definitely more crowded than Minnesota, _I thought as I walked down the street, every now and then checking the piece of paper in my hand. Translating the Japanese on the street signs was a breeze for me. I never lived anywhere else outside of Minnesota, but thanks to the wealthy income of a doctor family, I had a superior education and learned Japanese at a young age. I was more concerned with my family. I was supposed to meet my cousin today at her job; she was going to escort me to her house after work. Both of my parents are dead now; Dad was in a car accident recently, and Mom had already died before I could remember. So, now I had to move in with my only remaining family: my cousins Mint Aizawa, Seiji Aizawa, and their parents. I've never met my uncle, aunt, nor Seiji in person. I was excited to see Mint, though. Mint and I have emailed each other since we were small. I even got to meet and hang with her for a day a little before my father passed away. He had brought me along for a special training conference in Tokyo. Mint was busy most of the time, but on the last day we were able to get together and visit the red data animal exhibit.

I have a strong belief that visiting that exhibit is what changed everything. I don't know about Mint since Dad and I had to hop on the plane right afterwards, but I felt strange. I passed out on the plane and had a weird dream about an island fox. Dad didn't think anything of it. I guess he just presumed it was jet lag. I did discover a mark on my right hand, though, that looked like a fox face along with a pendant. The mark didn't hurt, and the pendant looked nice. I didn't want to worry my dad, so I hid them from him. Since then I have always worn a black fingerless glove and white choker for my pendant. It wasn't long after the visit that I discovered my "abilities." At first, I was terrified, but, eventually, I grew accustomed to it and started using my power to help others. Since then, the media had been reporting about America's hero, "The White Fox," named after my fox tail & ears and white clothes & eyes. I've sent Mint articles about the White Fox before, without telling her that it was me, of course, and she'd send me articles about the Tokyo Mew Mews. I immediately noticed the resemblance between Mint and Mew Mint, but I knew there was no way she was going to admit it.

I shook from my thoughts as I heard my stomach grumble. _Shut-up, stomach! I'm going as fast as I can! Oh, here's a park. Maybe this is the park that I had to go through, _I thought as I looked at my slip one more time before entering. _All right, now it says here that it's a restaurant and I won't miss it... What kind of directions are these?! Of course, I'll miss it! I thought we established already that I get lost in cities __**way **__too easily! _I sighed as I looked around on top of a small hill. _**Woah!**__ Just kidding. Look at that frilly place. Way too frilly for me, but that must be the place. _I started heading towards the "Girl Palace" when I heard an explosion. I swirled around to see a huge smoke cloud come from the center of the park. People were screaming as they ran away. _Oh, snap. Why now? _I ran to a clump of trees and jumped into the branches, leaping from branch to branch towards the explosion. My pendant started to glow as I slowly morphed. Silver ears with red on the backs grew from my head as a tail with silver on the back, red on the bottom, and a black stripe grew on my back. My eyes turned white as my fangs and nails slightly enlarged. My clothes glowed white as they changed into a white dress that reaches from my shoulders to my upper thigh. In the middle of the dress was an aquamarine band with a light green string tied in front. The sleeves were disconnected as they covered half of my upper arm and half of my lower arm. All of the edges of my clothes were lined in aquamarine. My shoes became white laced ballerina slippers. My weapon, which is a white fan with my mark etched in red in the middle with gray lines swirling towards it, formed around my waist, held in place by the tie & band. I use to have to summon my weapon, but after enough training, it just appears when I morph. I finished morphing just as I approached the area where the explosion was, saw the Mew Mews, and jumped in front of them. All of the Mew Mews were shocked by my sudden appearance. I looked around to see three pale guys with pointy ears and a bunch of carrot monsters. I cocked an eyebrow as I examined the mutated carrots. _What in the world? Since when can carrots walk? This would be a good headliner: "When Carrots Attack." _I chuckled to myself only to be heard by the shrimp of trio.

"What's so funny?!"

"I've heard of people mutating animals, but mutating **carrots**?!"

That had done it. I was holding my sides as I fell into a laughing fit. I could just feel the little guy get flustered.

"And, exactly, who are **you** to judge?!" the shrimp screamed.

"Who are you to judge that I can't judge?" I shot back with a small smirk growing on my face.

It wasn't a very good comeback, but I knew it would make him angrier all the same. He grumbled and was about to yell something back when the green haired boy interrupted.

"Calm down," he said to the shrimp before turning to look at me, "I'm Kisshu, this here is Pai, and the shrimp is Taruto."

"I'm not a shrimp! I'm just…miniature…" Taruto said finishing his sentence meekly.

"The Americans call me the White Fox," I replied bowing like an actress just finishing her play.

"I know you! I read an article about you! You helped fight crime in America!" Mint said as she stepped up beside me.

I turned halfway facing the Mew Mews and replied, "I know you as well. You are Mint… I mean Mew Mint… and these are all the Tokyo Mew Mews. I have, um, also read an article about you all.

I had tried to sound like I had no idea who their real identities were. I mentally kicked myself for saying Mint's real name. I made eye contact with each Mew Mew to check if they had fallen for it. Only Zakuro looked questionably at me. Or should I say Mew Zakuro? _Geesh, they didn't even bother to change names. How pathetic is this world for people not to notice the resemblance of a famous super model, not to mention the name?! _I turned back to the guys and saw Kisshu quickly look away. _What was he looking at?_

"Alright, so if I read that paper right, these are the 'floating men' that send these 'monstrous creatures' to destroy mankind?"

"Correct," Ichigo nodded.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

I jumped into the mass of carrots and started cutting them down with my claws without hesitation. I already had fifteen carrots down before the Mew Mews joined me._ Easy._


	2. Chapter 2

I merrily hummed to myself as I continued chopping carrot heads with my claws, not even bothering with my fan. My specialty was multiple enemies, so this was nothing to me. I kept an eye on the Mew Mews, though, who didn't look like they were having as easy of a time. Even with their powered attacks, it looked like they could only focus on a couple at a time, so they were going at a much slower rate than I was.

"Ribbon Pudding ring Inferno!" the yellow girl, who I immediately placed as Pudding, yelled as she trapped two carrot monsters in her pudding of doom.

I decided to help and sliced the pudding with my claws, destroying the carrots trapped inside.

"Thanks!" Pudding said before moving on to the next carrot.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!" I heard Mint yell behind me.

I turned around to see Mint's attack strike a carrot trying to sneak up on me. Mint then flew to my side and shot off another attack to a distant carrot.

"Thanks for that," I nodded to Mint.

I scanned the area to see only five mutant carrots left. I just crossed my arms and stood back, knowing the others could handle the leftovers.

"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!"

"Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!"

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!"

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

"Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!"

I watched lazily as a pink puff ball-like creature suddenly popped up and ate all the jellyfish monsters that started coming out of the decapitated carrots. _That was too easy and boring._ I looked up to see a pair of inquisitive eyes.

"Hey, White Fox, why didn't you use your powers to beat them? It would have gone way faster," Kisshu asked.

"That would have been **too **easy. I mean, it was boring enough just swiping them with my claws. None of them put up a very good fight."

"But there were so many! Weren't you worried about getting hurt?" Ichigo asked taking a step towards me.

I chuckled a little before responding, "I wish. I have yet to be hurt by my opponent."

Kisshu looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk planted on his face.

"You are obviously more powerful and interesting than Ichigo, foxy," Kisshu whispered.

I probably would have missed it had I not had my fox ears.

"Foxy?" I questioned.

He merely made a bigger smirk and disappeared.

"We will meet again," Pai said before leaving.

"See ya!" Taruto said following Pai.

_Huh. Weird bunch. I'm not one to talk, though._ I turned around to see the Mew Mews staring at me with questioning looks.

"Why are you in Japan?" Lettuce asked.

_Oh, boy._

"Girls!" I heard two guys yell just as they came into view.

"Uh, time to go!" I hastily said jumping into the branches and from tree to tree.

"Wait! No…" Ichigo started, but I had already left.

I had turned back to normal by the time I got back to where I was before the explosion. _Uh. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, I was going to the palace of frills. _I stuck my tongue out in disgust as I approached the pink building. When I got to the gate, I noticed a sign above my head that read Café Mew Mew and a sign behind a red rope that said closed. I scoffed in response to the "coincidence" of the restaurant being the group name of Tokyo's heroines. _Yeah, this must be where she works, _I thought with a sigh. I ducked under the ropes and walked up to the door. Thankfully, it was still unlocked. _Probably in too much of a hurry._ I opened the door and walked in to see a room filled with hearts. It was a girly disaster zone. It was also void of people. _I must have beaten them. Oh, well. I might as well make myself comfortable._ I grabbed a chair from a table and sat down, laying my head on the table. I'm not quite sure how much time passed, but eventually I lifted my head at the sound of the door opening.

"Alright, let's finish packing everything up," the male blonde said as he walked in.

He stopped when we locked eyes. His eyes grew big in surprise as I continued to look on lazily.

"Uh, may I help you?" the brunette male asked noticing and walking up to me as the rest of the group started to file in.

"Well, not **you**, but Mint can," I said nodding my head to her as she walked through the door.

Mint paused for a second before yelling, "**Ambrosia!**"

We both ran to each other and gave each other tight hugs.

"It's so great to see you again! Well, not under these circumstances, but you know what I mean!" Mint said letting go of me as I nodded with a warm smile.

"You look familiar…" Zakuro muttered loud enough for me to hear.

"Really?" I replied trying to sound as innocent as I could with a half-smile.

"You're really different. I've never met anyone young with silver hair before except that girl in the…!" Pudding remarked pointing at my unique feature, but was quickly cut-off by Ichigo's hand.

"It doesn't matter! Stop judging her looks!" Mint said getting annoyed before turning back to me, "Let me change out of my uniform, and then we can go. Oh, by the way, that's Keiichiro Akasaka and Ryou Shirogane."

As Mint ran off to get changed, I did a double-take as I realized what the girls were wearing. _Wow! I thought the restaurant was frilly! Those uniforms literally are. How typical that they are wearing their colors. _When Mint had left the room, the other girls quickly went about putting everything away that still needed to put in its proper place. Keiichiro glanced at me once before rushing off into the kitchen. Ryou just continued to stand there and stare. _Okay…_

"…You don't have to stay here on my account. Please, do whatever you need to do," I said hoping to get rid of his icy eyes.

"I'm done with everything I need to do," Ryou stated before grabbing a chair and sitting down next to the chair I had been sitting in.

Once he was sitting, he continued to glare. _Weirdo._ I sat back down in my chair, resigning to my unfortunate fate. A moment or two passed in pure silence between us.

"Um, so, exactly how old are you? Uh, do you have any pets? Can you please say something so I stop sounding stupid?" I asked desperately, trying to kill the silence.

A chuckle escaped from his lips at my last question before he replied, "I'm 16 years old. I don't have any pets. And, you don't have to worry. I'm the one who's just staring you down and making you feel uncomfortable."

I smiled warmly and he immediately returned it. _Wow, he's really nice. A little on the weirdish side, but who isn't anymore? _I looked around the store and watched the rest of the group clean.

Did Mint tell you about everybody?" Ryou asked.

I nodded as I pointed out everybody, "That's Ichigo, that's Lettuce, Pudding, and Zaukro."

"You know all of them, but how come you didn't know Keiichiro and me?"

"Well, all she really said about you two was that you owned the restaurant she worked in. Even then, she didn't mention your names. I'll be honest, though; I don't see why you made such a frilly restaurant when you guys already could attract all the girls you two want with just your looks."

Ryou smiled and leaned towards me until we were only inches apart. My eyes went wide as I felt my cheeks turn pink from the sudden proximity.

"You really think so? Any girl?" Ryou questioned.

"Well, yeah, sure. Except the smarter girls who know better than to be bought by good looks alone," I replied regaining my composure and gently pushing him back with a smirk.

We both chuckled.

"Hey, Ambrosia! Ready to go?" Mint said running towards Ryou and me.

"Sure! It was nice meeting you, Ryou. It was nice meeting everybody! Bye!" I said as I got off my chair and followed Mint out the door.

"Bye!" everyone yelled before the door closed.


	3. Chapter 3

Mint and I walked outside of the park where a limo was waiting for us.

When we both got in, the limo took off as Mint turned to me and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Immediately catching on to what she meant, I replied, "Well, the place is nice, I guess. I don't mind it being girly, but that restaurant kind-of crosses the line. Your co-workers all seem nice, even though we didn't get much of a chance to talk."

"And Keiichiro and Ryou?"

"Keiichiro seems nice, like the girls. Ryou was kind when I was talking to him. He was really weird at first, though. Of course, they probably have that impression of me, too."

Mint smiled, "You'll show them how nice you are."

I smiled back as the limo pulled to a stop.

"We are here," the driver said.

Mint and I hopped out of the limo and walked up the stairs to her mansion.

"I was only here for a second before we rushed off last time, so I never told you, but you have a beautiful house here," I said observing the details I didn't notice before.

"Think so? I think it could use a little remodeling," Mint replied as her servants opened the door.

A dog ran up and started sniffing me the moment I walked inside.

"You must be Miki," I said patting the dog's fur before Mint picked him up.

"I'll show you your room," Mint said as she continued walking.

I followed her up the stairs and through the long, twisting hallways until she paused at a door and opened it.

"Here's your room. Your stuff already arrived yesterday. The servants and I unpacked them ourselves. We will be eating supper in an hour, which is down the stairs and to your left. My room is just down the other hallway."

"Thanks," I nodded to Mint.

She nodded back and headed back to the main hall. I entered my room to see a royal red colored carpet and beige walls. There was a crystal chandelier in the center of the room straight ahead of me. My new bed had a gold-trimmed bed stand and was to the center right with what appeared to be a red satin blanket and a white, fluffy pillow to cover the mattress. A large, glass sliding door that had red curtains pulled back by gold colored rope was to the left of my bed leading to a large, white balcony. To the right of the bed, a small oak table and padded oak chair was pulled up to the corner and facing away from the window and bed. On the table were my green electric alarm clock, special sketchbook, pencils, and pencil sharpener. On the left side of your room was a large walk-in closet. _I like this room; I could get really comfortable here. I'm glad they unpacked everything for me. I'm not sure I could muster enough motivation._ I sighed and jumped cross-legged onto my bed before glancing at the clock. _5:35. So, that means we eat at 6:30, huh? That's about when I ate supper in America. Great minds think alike. Too bad my stomach's being silly. Just hold on a bit longer,_ I thought as I held my grumbling belly. I gave a weak smirk as I got off the bed and opened the sliding door deciding to watch the sun set from the balcony. I walked up to the railing, crossed my arms, and rested my head on my arms.

"Beautiful."

"Yeah…" a voice said to my left.

Without thinking, I quickly stood up and turned my head to the left. There, I saw someone sitting on the railing with their back towards the sun looking at me. Before I even registered who it was I yelped and jumped to the right. I almost tripped and fell, but caught myself by grabbing onto the rail.

"Jumpy, aren't you?"

That's when I realized who it was. _Kisshu. That means he actually knows who I am. The first out of how many…_ I gave a small sigh and my eye twitched slightly from the thought.

"What do **you** want?" I asked straightening myself.

I turned towards the setting sun, but kept my eyes on the green-haired boy.

"What else would I come here for?" Kisshu replied jumping off the railing and walking around to my back.

I stood frigid as Kisshu crossed his arms and laid them upon my shoulders before resting his head next to my left ear, much in the same manner of how I had rested before on the railing. I looked away from him staring straight ahead.

"Let me rephrase my question: what do you plan on doing?" I asked narrowing my eyes, still not looking back at him.

"Oh, nothing. I just planned on bonding with my little fox," Kisshu said with a smirk on his face as he slowly and loosely wrapped his arms around your waist.

I let out a sigh and relaxed my body before rolling my eyes.

"Whatever. As long as you're not hurting anyone, I guess I have no reason to fight with you," I stated before putting my elbows back on the railing and resting my head in my hands, planning to just ignore him.

That response seemed to please him. He gave a bigger smirk and squeezed me as he nestled his head by mine, leaving no gaps. _I'm not used to the attention, but at least if he's here he's not scaring people,_ I thought as I kept my composure.

"You don't seem bothered at all…" Kisshu said not loosening his grip and turning his head to watch the sun with me.

"Why would I be? It's not like you're raping me or anything. I don't have a boyfriend, neither, so I don't have to put space between me and everyone else."

"But, I'm your enemy."

"You're the one cuddling. If anyone here gets a broken heart from fighting each other, it would be you."

"Good point. I like you; you're really smart. Not like the other humans on this planet that just prefer ignorance and only care for themselves."

I didn't respond. It didn't pay to argue, especially when I didn't want to fight. Besides, there was some truth to his statement. Neither of us tried to break the silence that followed. We just watched the sun as it tried to shine the last of its light in the sky; he did keep squeezing me every now and then, though.

"Hmm, what time is it?" I asked moving slowly so I wouldn't surprise him.

Kisshu reluctantly let go of me, put his hands behind his head, and replied in an annoyed voice, "Who cares?"

"I care, 'cause I'm hungry."

I walked inside my room as Kisshu turned to watch me. I walked to my desk and read 6:25 on my clock.

"Well, five minutes until we officially start eating," I said to myself loud enough for Kisshu to hear.

I heard Kisshu scoff as he came up beside me.

"Guess it's time for you to leave… Oh, darn. Now what will I ever do?" I said with a sarcastic tone and crossing my arms, still facing the clock.

I tried to hold back a smirk, but without success. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the same smirk on Kisshu's face.

He walked up to me and, again, wrapped his arms around my waist before whispering lightly in my ear, "Don't worry. I'll always keep my eye on you."

"Oh, joy. My own personal stalker."

Kisshu grinned as he let go of me. I turned toward him just to see him teleport away. _I wonder how the others would react if they found out about this. _I swatted the thought away with my hand as I gave a big sigh and closed the sliding door before leaving my room. When I entered the dining hall, I saw Mint and an old lady, who I remembered from Mint's emails to be her nanny, sitting at the table.

"Hey, Mint," I said warmly, sitting down in a chair beside her, "What's to eat?"

"Just some spaghetti. I hope you don't mind…" the nanny replied.

"No! Not at all! Actually, I love spaghetti," I replied with another smile.

She returned the smile as the waiters came in and served the plates.

"How do you like your room?" Mint questioned before eating a fork full of noodles.

"I love the room!" I responded with a grin, "Oh, I just thought of something. What am I doing for my education?"

"Well, your aunt and uncle were planning on getting you a tutor, if that's okay with you," Mint's nanny said.

"It's fine. I was just checking."

For the rest of supper, we just continued to idly chit-chat. It was a refresher to have someone to talk to at home again. Even though I only had a few meals alone since Dad passed away, they still felt incredibly lonely. After supper, we all said our goodnights before heading to our rooms. As soon as I entered mine, I plopped on my bed lying on my back and put my hands behind my head. _My, my. I expected to have to deal with the Mew Mews, but I never thought I would have to deal with an elf-like alien getting a crush…_ I couldn't help but smirk as I thought about Kisshu. There was no denying it; I enjoyed the attention. Sure, it may be wrong to like attention from an enemy, but who doesn't like knowing someone has a crush on them? I got off the bed to grab my sketchbook and a pencil before sitting back down on my bed. Whenever I had a strong emotion, I needed to sketch something. Right now, the more I thought about Kisshu's crush, the giddier and more satisfied I felt. I didn't even debate what I was going to sketch. My hand just started to flow as I started drawing the sunset. After finally drawing one I was willing to accept, I started to draw the railing. As I continued to draw, I thought about how screwy I drew. _Normally, you're supposed to draw the main subject first before moving onto scenery. I don't know why, I just like drawing backwards._ It took several hours until I managed to get every small detail that was on the balcony and in the sky. Before I started drawing anything else, I looked at the time and noticed it was 10:30. _Ugh, I really wanted to finish this. Oh, well. I'll do it some other time._ I slowly closed my sketchbook before throwing it and my pencil across the room towards my desk. They landed with a plop on top of my desk as I kicked off my shoes, lied down, and fell asleep, not even bothering to crawl under the covers.


	4. Chapter 4

I groggily woke up the next morning facing towards the sliding doors and noticed a familiar person sitting next to me on the bed.

"Morning, Foxy! You know, you should learn to get up sooner so I don't have to wait as long," Kisshu rang in a sing-song voice once he noticed I was awake.

I forced myself halfway up, looked at the clock to see it was 8:00, and collapsed back down on my bed.

"Well?" Kisshu asked.

"Erg," I muffled putting my hand on his face and gently shoving him off my bed.

"Sounds like someone's not a morning person," he said with a smirk standing beside my bed.

"Let me sleep…" I whined.

Kisshu continued to smile as he picked me up bridal-style and dropped me on the floor.

"**Hey!**" I yelled, now fully awake with a sore butt.

"You don't want to spend the whole day sleeping, do you?"

"Ugh, no. Thanks, I guess…"

I certainly wasn't going to be able to sleep at this rate, anyway. So, I got up and walked into my closet. When I came out with what I wanted to wear in my hands, I realized that Kisshu was still there watching me patiently.

"You know the comment I made about you being a stalker? I didn't know it was going to be true."

"Well, I just wanted to be with you now, seeing how we are going to be a little busy with other things later today…" Kisshu said trailing off.

"Busy? Oh, I see. You guys are going to attack. Well, either way, I can't deal with that now. Leave, so I can get ready."

"What? I can't watch?" Kisshu asked with a toothy grin, knowing the answer he would get in response.

"Oh, har har, now, leave before I go Mew Mew on your godforsaken ass!" I said pointing at the sliding door.

Kisshu continued smiling as he walked out and flew off to who-knows-where. _That annoying, smiley, little, pointy-eared pervert. _I gave a small smile of my own shaking my head. I walked over to the curtains and untied the rope so they would cover up the glass door. After I was done getting ready, I headed to the dining room to grab some breakfast. When I reached the main stairs, I ran into Mint.

"Hey, Mint!" I called as I approached her.

"Hey," Mint responded with a grin.

"Do you have work today?"

"I have work almost **every **day."

"Can I come with you?"

Mint stiffened a little and narrowed her eyes and looked down, thinking. _I guess she's worried I'll find out about them. Too bad I already know! _I bit my lip desperately holding back a smirk.

I quickly regained my composure when she looked back up and replied, "Sure. It would be nice if you could help. Saturdays are always such busy days."

We both smiled at each other and kept talking all the way to the dining room. We ate, talked, got ready to leave, talked; all that normal people jazz. We finally left after saying goodbye to the nanny and Miki.

"Brace yourself, it's windy today," Mint told me as we walked outside to the limo.

"Really windy," I muttered to myself holding back my hair a bit.

_Good. This could come in handy for the aliens' attack. _The limo took off as soon as we were situated in our seats. We were halfway to the restaurant when the limo stopped abruptly. I probably would have gotten a concussion had I not been wearing my seatbelt.

"What is going on up there?!" Mint yelled annoyed at the sudden halt.

"Something is happening up ahead. Is it a car crash? Seems pretty hectic for a car crash…" the limo driver half-answered, half-mused.

Mint and I looked out of the limo's windows to see people in the distance running in our direction. _Oh, don't tell me they started, __**already**__! _Mint hopped out of the limo and started running towards the chaos.

"Ms. Aizawa!" the driver yelled.

I waited a few minutes to make sure she was gone before running out of the limo and heading towards a nearby alley.

"Not you, too! Ugh!" I heard the limo driver yell in frustration as I entered the alleyway.

_Gotta make this quick. _I transformed then jumped to the top of the building next to me, which was luckily a house, so it wasn't that tall, before jumping from roof to roof towards the excitement. When I got there, Ichigo was making a "Protect the earth, nya!" speech, so just for fun I jumped beside them and did the little pose with them.

"Huh? The White Fox?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yeah. Do you think I would be here for one day, and then just leave forever? What kind of hero does that?" I responded putting my hands on my hips and swishing my tail to the right.

"Foxy!" Kisshu cried in excitement.

"Heh. Hey, Kisshu!" I half-laughed, giving him a quick wave.

The Mew Mews gave me a strange look; no doubt because I just warmly acknowledged an enemy.

"So…what's today's mutation?" I stammered realizing how that must have looked and wanting to change the focus of attention.

Just as I said that, a big, blue, glowing blob appeared in front of me.

"What **is **that, even?" I questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"It's a bacterium," Pai stated simply.

"Hmm."

I wasn't sure whether to feel a little disgusted or intrigued. _I guess it really doesn't matter what it is._

"Ribbon Mint Echo!" Mint said before launching an arrow at the blob.

The arrow made a hole right in the center, but quickly filled back up.

"It didn't work!" Mint said disappointed.

The bacterium squirted its goop at us, and we all quickly dodged it, scattering around the blob & surrounding it.

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!"

That pretty much had the same result as Mint's attack. In response, the bacterium attacked Lettuce, who tried to dodge, but got hit and was sent flying across the street.

"Ribbon Zakuro Spear!"

And, no surprise, the exact same thing happened. Soon, Zakuro joined Lettuce on the other side of the street. Now I was just annoyed by both the bacterium and the Mew Mews. _Argh! Don't they know by now that random attacks are not going to work?! We need a plan. _I glanced at each Mew Mew to see how little they were on the same page. _Maaayybe I should just use one of my powers instead… My basic powered attack will only get the same results as Zakuro & Lettuce, but this should be enough wind for me to use my special attack… _I pulled back a few hairs that had gotten loose from my ponytails and were whipping in my face from the wind. I made eye contact with Ichigo, who looked like she was going to try next, and shook my head no. She must have understood my intentions since she took a small step back. I looked back at the bacterium before taking out my fan and closing my eyes for a second. My eyes glowed a soft, snow white as I opened them. I started to spin holding my fan out. The wind that was previously annoying now became threatening as it picked up and started to concentrate around the bacterium. The Mew Mews & aliens backed up and braced themselves from the force. The rest of my body began to glow white with silver & red sparkles as the wind around the target grew to a weak tornado level. I then forcibly stopped spinning and glowing. The sudden stop sent a big gush of wind in all directions around me, which pushed back a few cars, and unfortunately, Pudding & Ichigo, who were next to me, but that wasn't my attack. The tornado around the bacterium had started to glow white while I was spinning and the tornado dug into the ground a little bit as it reached its climax just after I stopped spinning. The parasite alien infecting the bacterium was forcibly thrown out, and the wind quickly dispersed, going back to its original strength, which now felt like a gentle breeze in comparison, and revealing that the chimera animal was gone. _Well, it was just bacteria, so it probably shrunk back to microscopic size. _I straightened up and gave the male aliens a stern look as the same pink puff from before flew up to the jellyfish and ate it. All three boys just stared back in amazement.

"Is that it?" I questioned.

None of them replied. Pai and Taruto quickly retreated. Kisshu stayed for a second longer, giving me an evil, satisfied grin before following his companions. His look almost made me shiver. With them gone, I turned towards the Mew Mews who were slowly approaching.

"That…" Ichigo started.

"Was **awesome**!" Pudding finished as she jumped on me, which caught me off guard, sending both of us tumbling to the ground. "Teach me how to do that!" Pudding said as she just sat on me.

"Uh, well, it's not something I can just teach to anybody."

"I noticed you didn't use a name for it. A Mew Mew is supposed to have names for their attacks. How come you don't?" Zakuro questioned.

"I don't know, maybe because it's not my signature…atta…" I started to answer before fully realizing what Zakuro had asked, "Wait. What?"

"You're a Mew Mew, aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

Pudding had gotten off and I had stood up during my conversation with Zakuro. Now, all the Mew Mews formed a half-circle around me giving me serious, questioning looks. It made me a little panicky.

"For one thing, you're part animal, and so are we. That's one huge coincidence, already," Ichigo said.

"Another, you have a pendant just like ours hanging around your neck. Did you think we wouldn't have noticed?!" Mint added pointing at the pendant at your neck.

I desperately held back a nervous laugh as my eyebrows slightly twitched. _Well…actually…seeing as how you haven't figured out who I am yet…_ All of us were too concentrated on our current conversation to notice an approaching red sports car until it revved up next to us. Of course, who else would the owners be other than Ryou and Keiichiro? _Oh, boy, _I thought as the two popped out of the vehicle.

"Are you all right, ladies?" Keiichiro asked as he approached.

Ryou, on the other hand, ignored them as he headed straight towards me. He grabbed my chin and pulled it up a little, forcing me to look him in the eye. A moment passed with him just staring and me blinking clueless as to why he was just standing & staring. Then, I noticed realization spark in his eyes.

"You…" Ryou mumbled.

_Ah, shit. _I quickly pulled my head out of his hand and started to run back to where the limo was supposed to be.

"Wait!" Ryou yelled chasing after me.

I sped up and easily lost the group. Once I made sure they were far enough away, I hid in an empty alley and transformed back. _Way too close! Damn it! He'll probably tell everybody who I am now! Ugh! I guess I don't mind Mint knowing, but if everyone else knows, they'll always expect me to help them as a "fellow heroin." _I peeked out of the alleyway to check if any of them were still possibly tailing me before running the rest of the way to the limo. When I got there, the limo driver was nervously pacing outside the limo. I slowed to a walk as the driver spotted me and smiled with relief.

"Oh, Miss Ambrosia Aizawa! Thank goodness that at least **you **came back!" the limo driver said running to meet me.

"Yeah, about that? Can you promise not to tell anyone that I left the limo? I promise not to get you in trouble."

"Uh, well…"

I looked at him with big, pleading eyes.

It must have gotten to him, because he closed his eyes and sighed before saying, "Well, I guess it doesn't pay to tell anyone if you came back safely, does it?"

"Thank you!" I said giving him a quick hug before running and jumping into the limo.

The driver came back and sat down in his driver's seat.

"You don't happen to know where Mint is now, do you?" he asked after settling down a bit.

"Uh, no. I just know that she's fine and she'll come back, eventually."

At that, I looked out my window anxiously waiting for Mint as I heard the driver sigh. _I wonder how much longer I can play innocent._


	5. Chapter 5

After a little bit, Mint returned and sat back in her spot inside the limo.

"Thank goodness you're okay, Ms. Mint Aizawa. I was terrified that something bad happened…" the limo driver said.

"Humph," Mint replied giving me a cold glare before quickly looking out the window.

_Yeah, she knows, and, boy, does she look pissed._

"Ah! Such good luck! The traffic is moving again!" the driver said as I felt the limo slowly start to speed up.

The rest of the ride to Café Mew Mew was completely silent. No one dared to speak; the driver and I were too frightened of Mint. I could just feel sparks coming from her body. No doubt the driver felt the tension, too. We didn't even speak when Mint and I were walking up to the doors of the café. Mint was about to open the door when I grabbed her hand.

"Mint, can we talk first?"

"No," she responded freeing her hand and thrusting the door open.

_Ouch. That hit low._ We both walked inside; me with my head down low, and Mint with a cold look on her face. As soon as the doors opened, everyone immediately turned to look at us and stared me down upon realizing who had come. Ryou quickly strode up to me and grabbed my wrist.

"Come with me. Now," he said pulling me along.

Everyone quietly followed as we all went down into the basement, which turned out to be a lab. I kept my head low out of shame, but my curiosity was too great to stop me from glancing around the lab. _Of course their hideout was more than just a normal café, but, jeez, quite the decked out lab. It's the complete opposite of upstairs. It feels like Batman's gloom-and-doom cave. _I bit my lip holding back a slight chuckle.

"First off, what's your relationship with those aliens?" Ryou asked harshly the moment we were in the center of the lab.

"What? I have no relationship with them," I replied as everyone lined up beside Ryou.

"Then how come when Kisshu said hi you waved at him?" Zakuro asked stepping up.

"That's just it. Because he said hi. What, I can't be polite?"

"Since when are people polite to their enemies?" Ryou inquired.

"How many times have you heard that you should always treat your enemies like equals?" I shot back.

With each question everyone could feel the tension grow higher and higher. That's when Keiichiro stepped in.

"The most important question is; how come you didn't tell us?" Keiichiro asked.

"Well, um…"

"Isn't it obvious? She thinks she's better than us," Mint said snottily.

"No!"

"Then, why?" Ichigo asked this time.

"It's just because I don't like working with other people. I don't know why, it's just that whenever I'm in a group, I suddenly become too anxious to use my full strength, and that's no good if you want to beat your enemy," I said calmly and quietly.

Mint was about to say something when Ryou interrupted.

"Fine. I guess it doesn't matter. As long as you're not working with the aliens, it's okay. Although, that leaves the matter of how you obtained your powers unsettled. We had assumed that maybe the enemy had tried to make a Mew Mew of their own."

I looked at him strangely for a second.

"Uh, no. I didn't even know they existed when I got my powers. I got this mark on my hand the day I visited the red data exhibit with Mint," I said removing my glove and showing everyone my mark.

"Wait. I thought you guys said that I only had to find four other companions. If she got her powers from the exhibit, she would've been the sixth member. You lied!" Ichigo said to Ryou and Keiichiro with her hands on her hips, clearly a little irritated.

"We didn't lie. We only programmed the DNA infusion for five Mew Mews. No one else should have gotten any powers," Ryou replied just as irritated.

"This could be a problem," Keiichiro mumbled to Ryou.

"What do you mean? Isn't it a good thing that we have another companion?" Lettuce questioned.

"If her story is indeed true, that means the computer glitched, which means she may not be the only one who was accidentally infused. If other people have Mew Mew powers and we don't know about it, we wouldn't be able to explain what's going on with their bodies and things could get chaotic," Ryou explained with a deadly serious face.

"Right. Ambrosia managed to learn on her own and become an American hero, but remember how terrified Lettuce was when we first found her?" Mint said adding to Ryou's explanation.

I had no idea how Lettuce handled her transformation, but basing off of Ichigo's and Lettuce's face, I guessed not too well. Silence filled the room.

"Is there any way we could find out if any more people are Mew Mews?" Pudding interjected.

"No, not at this point. Ryou and I try to record and organize the research as much as possible, but with such a revolutionary project as the Mew Mews, there is simply too much data to keep. That's why we've kept only the essential and up to date data," Keiichiro sighed.

"I guess there's no point in worrying about it then," Ryou resigned with a sigh before looking back at me with a serious look, "I've got one more question for you. Will you help us if we need it?"

"…Yeah, no problem," I replied after thinking for a moment.

"Well, I guess that's settled, then! Let's finish setting everything up for the customers," Keiichiro said heading back to the kitchen.

The girls filed out following Keiichiro. I turned towards them as Mint glanced at me just as she stepped out of sight. Ryou and I stood silently in the room for a couple seconds with me staring where Mint had been and him staring at my back.

Finally, I gave a deep sigh and slightly turned my head to Ryou saying, "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. But, it's probably best that you don't stick around today. Mint isn't going to be in the best mood to deal with you."

I heaved yet another sigh. I started to feel guilty for not telling her in the first place and worried that Mint wasn't going to forgive me very easily. Ryou must have sensed my despair, because he walked up to me and leaned right up to my face.

"Don't worry. I'm sure after today she'll be fine. Just go enjoy yourself for now."

I nodded as he stood up straight.

"Well, I'll be seeing you," he said raising his hand as he walked out the lab.

I stood there for a few more minutes, slightly smiled, and followed.

A little while later, I gave a relaxed sigh as I leaned back on a tree by the side of a river. _Ah, what a perfect spot to rest._ I looked up at the sun to estimate how much time had passed. Unfortunately, it looked like it hadn't moved at all since I left Café Mew Mew. _I hope Mint will forgive me…_ That's when I felt a left arm pull around my waist and my head lean on a right shoulder instead of a tree. I saw that I was sitting in-between his legs now with his left leg outstretched and his right lifted up at the knee with his right arm resting on it.

"Kisshu," I greeted flatly not even sparing him a glance.

"Well, isn't that harsh. You didn't even look at me! Is something wrong?" Kisshu asked slightly resting his head on my left shoulder.

"No. Well, not anything you can do about it, anyway."

"That won't work. Tell me," Kisshu said picking me up a little, crossing his legs, and plopping me sideways in his lap.

He wrapped both his arms around me, and I cuddled into his chest. I just couldn't help it. His body was warm and he had such gentle eyes at that moment. I was worried and needed comfort. Before I knew it, I spilled out my troubles.

"Well, it's just that the rest of the Mew Mews figured out who I am and Mint is really mad at me. Ryou said I should just give her time and enjoy myself, but that's hard to do when you know someone's mad at you…" I said as I nestled my head into his shoulder.

"Hmm, really? Well, then. I say you should take Ryou's advice."

"I'm trying. That's why I came out here."

"Well, then, how about you come with me?"

"Come with you **where**?" I asked lifting my head suddenly becoming less anxious about Mint and more suspicious about Kisshu.

"I promise I won't kidnap you," Kisshu said with a gentle smile and his eyes half closed as he leaned his forehead on mine.

I couldn't take it. I didn't know what exactly caused it, but my face rose to an intense level of heat. _I've never felt my face heat up so much before in my life…_ I contemplated in my head for a few minutes knowing that going anywhere with him could be risky. _Ah, what the heck? At least I wouldn't be all gloom-and-doom lying here._

"Sure," I quietly muttered.

Kisshu gave a wide, toothy grin and squeezed me. I was going to stand up on my own, but Kisshu quickly stood us both up without ever letting go of me.

"You like watching nature, huh? That's what you were going to do here and on the balcony yesterday? Well, I know the perfect place."

Kisshu teleported us both and I scanned the area to see where I was now. We were on top of a grassy cliff with a beautiful view of the ocean covering both my sides. The sunlight hit the water just right to cause the water to gleam in beautiful, bright colors. Kisshu slowly sat us both back down and put me back in the same position he had me in before we stood up while I just gawked at the scenery. I tore my eyes from the ocean for a moment as Kisshu looked into my eyes which had to be big and bright from the glorious view.

"It's wonderful…" I barely managed to say as I quickly turned my gaze back into the ocean.

Kisshu just smiled and held me closer. I couldn't have been more at peace. After a while of just watching the water, I slowly became more conscious of Kisshu's presence. I rapidly kept shifting my gaze between Kisshu and the water. No doubt he took notice, because he shifted his eyes toward me with a small grin and a cocked eyebrow.

"So, umm…" I started.

"Yes?" Kisshu asked with his grin slightly growing.

_Oh, God. What am I doing?! I don't even know what I was going to ask! Think of something, __**quick**__! _

"Well, I…I don't know much about you or your kind besides, you know, that small taking over the world thing reported by the news. Would you mind telling me the whole story?" I asked trying to sound casual.

Kisshu's smile vanished as he twitched a little before giving a sigh.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" I quickly added realizing I had just put him in a terrible mood.

"No. It's all right. You see…" he started as he proceeded to explain to me the troubles of his species and how much we humans suck.

I was almost starting to hate my specie's existence just from hearing his story.

"…and that's how we got here," Kisshu finished.

I was amazed with how much he had to struggle to get just this far. _Wow, now I feel terrible for thinking he was just some perverted, twisted alien._

"Kisshu. I agree that humans do treat this world terribly. But, if you wanted to live here, then why don't you try to communicate peacefully with us? That would probably turn out better than your current method."

"What makes you think that humans would accept **us**?"

"Why shouldn't they? I mean, at least in your case, you're nice when you're not trying to take over the world, definitely passionate when it comes to keeping the earth clean, you care for your people… Heck, you're just plain better than a lot of guys on this planet!" I said looking Kisshu straight in the eye.

He paused for a second looking a little surprised at my response, and then a small, satisfied smirk appeared on his face.

"Thanks," he replied squeezing me.

It was my turn to pause for a second to assess an appropriate response before giving him a quick, tight hug and a warm smile.

"No problem."

We sat unmoving staring into each other's eyes as I felt warmth seep onto my face. _Aahh! This is embarrassing! Why is he looking at me like that?! Don't look at me like that! Wait, why am I getting so flustered? Am I falling for the enemy? __**Oh, shoot!**_ I quickly snapped my head towards the water trying to break the moment to see the sun was close to setting.

"Oh, look what time it is! Everyone's going to be worried about me. I better return…" I nervously said too embarrassed to look at him.

From the corner of my eye, I could see disappointment cover his face. Without a word, Kisshu stood us both up and teleported to my balcony. The moment we had touched ground I started to rapidly ramble.

"Well, thanks for taking me out there. Oh! I almost forgot that Mint was mad at me… Uh, well, thanks for that, too, I guess. Anyway, um…bye!"

I turned around and was about to rush into my room when Kisshu stepped in front of me.

"Until next time, my beautiful fox," Kisshu said before giving me a kiss on the cheek and teleporting off.

He had left too early to see that I was completely stiff and my face redder than a tomato. _Oh, my, __**God**__!_


	6. Chapter 6

I stood there in a daze before realizing what the time was. _Ah! Dinner has got to be over by now! I hope I didn't worry them… Jeez, Mint's never going to forgive me at this rate._ I ran downstairs and peeked into the dining room just to be sure if they had finished eating. But, instead of an empty room, I saw Mint sitting at the table looking depressed.

"Mint?" I asked stepping slowly into the room.

She quickly lifted her head and upon seeing me, relief spread across her face. Unfortunately, that was rapidly replaced with anger.

"Where were you?" Mint asked.

"I'm sorry, Mint. I was just…admiring the great outdoors. You know how much the country soothes me, seeing how I was born and raised on the outskirts of the cities," I replied trying to sound convincing with my half-truth.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Mint asked sounding a little less sharp and a little more broken.

"I didn't want to bug you, and I thought I was going to make it back home before dinner. I guess I was wrong…" I replied.

_That part was definitely the truth._

Mint heaved a sigh before staring me down in the eye and saying, "I guess I can forgive you this time. Just promise me you won't ever hold any secrets from me again. Ambrosia, you're my cousin, my family. I trust you and I want to be able to keep trusting you. So, please, do you promise?"

There was no way I could deny the promise after the look she gave me. I bit my lip and cautiously nodded my head.

"I promise."

_I can't promise, though, that what I'll tell you is something you want to hear._

A smile spread on Mint's face as she said, "Well, don't worry. I didn't eat. I refused to eat unless you were here. It's terrible that you had to make me wait for so long."

She rang a bell that was beside her as I sat down next to her. A waiter came in with two plates and placed them in front of us. It was as if she never had been angry with me at all; we had an enjoyable meal and bonded a lot talking about Mint's silly companions, namely Ichigo. _Funny. And all day I was worried about how long it would take for her to forgive me. I guess I really am a girl, worrying over things that I don't need to worry about. _After our delayed dinner, we both went our separate ways to get ready for bed. I was just about to hop in bed when I happened to glance at my sketchbook on the desk. _Oh! My unfinished drawing! I can't believe I forgot about that. _I gently smiled as I picked up my sketchbook and opened the page to the unfinished balcony scene. Without even contemplating about what time it was, I sat down in my desk chair and started to sketch Kisshu.

The next morning, I was soaking in every second of slumber I could in my bed as I slowly drifted awake when I felt someone gently brush a hair out of my face. Knowing who it was and remembering my last attempt to continue sleeping, I sat halfway up and gave a half-hearted, early morning smile to Kisshu. Kisshu smiled back.

"Good morning, my little fox."

I sighed before replying, "Are you going to greet me every morning?"

"Of course. I can't stand to be away from you. I can't think! All I think about is when I can see you next. Mornings have become my favorite time of the day because I know that there is hardly any other times we are able spend time together. I anxiously anticipate seeing you in the morning and dread what feels like a year-long wait to be near you again," Kisshu said slowly scooting up to me and embracing me around the waist.

_So corny, yet still sweet._ Even though I was sitting up, my mind was still stuck in a morning fog. I yawned as I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head in the crook of his neck. His body stiffened for a second, surprised by my action. Kisshu then lifted my head to meet his warm smile as I stared back with droopy eyes & started to feel a soft smile spread on my lips. Kisshu gently placed my head back in the crook of his neck and placed his head next to my neck as we both tightened our grip around each other. I enjoyed the warmth of his body when I felt a gentle pair of lips on my neck. Blood rushed to my head and my morning fog broke as I realized what was happening. My eyes grew wide as I pushed Kisshu away and jumped off the bed.

"What's wrong?" asked a puzzled Kisshu.

"What's wrong?! We're supposed to be enemies, not a couple! One of us is going to be screwed over when this struggle for Earth is over, yet here we are on top of each other! Do you see what's wrong here?!" I semi-yelled so I wouldn't get Mint's or any of the servants' attention.

I thought my face last night was red. I could only imagine what I must have looked like as my face felt hotter than the sun's rays.

"Then, join us," Kisshu stated simply.

"What?!"

"Join us. We would keep this planet in better shape than the humans, and if you joined us your life would be spared and we could be together. It's as simple as that."

"Yeah, and let everyone I know and love die?!"

"Would you rather I die?"

"Of course not!"

"Then, who do you pick?"

I froze. _What should I say? I pick the earthlings because I would __**love **__to see you and your families perish since they were trying to find a better life? No, I definitely don't want that to happen. On the other hand, I don't want any humans to die, either._ The more I thought about it, the harder it was for me to think of anything to say. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"I don't want **anyone **to be hurt! I don't want to have to pick! Why do I have to choose?!" I asked breaking down.

Kisshu sighed and walked up to me. He pulled me in a warm embrace to support my weakening state.

"It's alright. You don't have to join us, not right now anyway. But, you do realize you'll have to decide sometime, right?"

I simply nodded before resting my head on his chest and continued to sob. _Leave it to Kisshu to assume I'll pick his side right away._ I would've cracked a smile from his typical Kisshu behavior if my mind hadn't been wrapped around the catch-22 I had been presented. He watched silently, gently stroking my hair as I shed the last of my tears.


	7. Chapter 7

Once I was done with my emotional episode, I gently pushed out of Kisshu's grip, regained my composure, and started walking to my closet.

"…I better go," Kisshu said.

He didn't wait for me to reply as he took a few steps towards the balcony before vanishing. I dragged myself through all the motions of getting ready for the day. I sat down at the dining table giving Mint and the nanny the best fake smile I could. Mint seemed too chipper to notice, but I thought I saw a small quizzical face on the nanny. I dug into my food, slowly pushing my rough early morning to the back of my head and returning to my normal mood.

"Oh, by the way, Ms. Ambrosia, Mister and Misses Aizawa have decided on your tutor. Your lessons will start today after work. Now if you excuse me, I have chores to attend to," the nanny stated as she stood up and ran off before I could even ask her when I was going to meet said tutor.

I stared at the dining room door confused over the lack of information I had received.

"Wait, work? Does she think I work at the café?" I questioned glancing at Mint to see the biggest maniacal smile I had ever seen.

"What?" I asked a little nervous.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just excited for work," Mint said still smiling at me.

That made me really nervous.

"What about you? Do you want to come to Café Mew Mew?" Mint asked.

The longer she smiled the more nervous I was becoming. My head swam full of possible excuses.

"Uh, well, since I don't know when my tutor will arrive, I should probably wait here."

"You heard my nanny; she thought you worked at the café, so no doubt she wouldn't have the tutor come during work hours…"

_She saw right through that._ I tried to think of another excuse, but what was I going to say? _I could suddenly start to feel ill… No, she wouldn't believe that for a second. _

"Might as well. I still think it's too frilly, though," I shrugged as I resigned myself to whatever was coming my way.

Mint kept grinning which kept me worrying as she grabbed my wrist pulling me out the door and to the limo. Heading to the café made me think about what Kisshu said that morning. _If I side with the aliens, I lose Mint. If I side with the humans, I lose Kisshu. _I kept pondering this thought through my head as we arrived at the park and Mint gleefully pulled me along to the café. I snapped out of my thoughts the moment we walked through the doors and six warm hellos were thrown in our direction. Well, Pudding's welcome was more an excited yelp, but from what I had noticed about her, that seemed normal.

"Hey, guys!" I responded with a big smile, a little surprised that everyone was so welcoming after what happened.

"Ambrosia. Just who I wanted to see," Ryou said quickly walking over with a smile on his face and a white package in his hands, "This is for you."

"Me?" I questioned eyeing the box.

"You," he responded placing the package in my hands.

_I wonder if this is why Mint has been acting so weird. _I laid the box down on the nearest table and cautiously started to open it. I was definitely suspicious.

"It's not a bomb," Ryou joked smirking and crossing his arms.

"You never know with you," I joked back with the same smirk.

With that last remark, I opened the box to find what appeared to be a Café Mew Mew uniform. I gently unfolded it and held it up to better examine it. It really was a uniform, no surprises there, but this uniform was slightly different than what I would've expected.

"I know it's silver instead of your Mew white color, but it matches your hair. Otherwise, your uniform would've been completely white. Didn't like that idea much," Ryou explained as I inspected the uniform.

_Ugh, does this mean I have to be a Café Mew Mew?_

"**You're going to be a Café Mew Mew?!**" Pudding cried with excitement.

"Of course she is. She's a mew mew, isn't she?" Mint smiled.

_I'm going to be stuck for hours in this frill palace every day._

"Aaahhh. Now I know why you were so weird this morning," I half-smiled to Mint.

Her smile grew and became even more evil looking.

"Part of it, maybe."

_Oh, God. What more?_

"Wait. You mean Ryou and Keiichiro told Mint before any of us?" Ichigo asked a little miffed.

"We had to make sure that Ambrosia came to the café," Keiichiro explained apologetically.

I looked back at the uniform in my hands as my forced smile wiped out and turned serious. _Hmm…I still haven't decided whose side I'm on. Well, it's not like working with them in the café is really picking their side, and I suppose it's expected of me to work here. So, I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear the atmosphere. _

"…Where are the changing rooms?" I asked Ryou cheerfully.

He gave a warm smile and pointed his finger in the direction.

"Yay! Ambrosia's going to work here!" Pudding yelled jumping up and down.

_Just grin and bear it, huh? _I had spent the next grueling hours rushing around taking orders and trying to be a good waitress, but, boy, was it a testing job. I knew that most of the customers were going to be girls, but I did not expect as many customers as there were. _It certainly doesn't help this is my first job; not even being a super hero compares to this!_ _And no one even trained me in!_ I had become a little testy, and the room decorations didn't help my mood at all. Thankfully, after stumbling around for the first hour and making some of the customers a little huffy from my ineptitude, I managed to figure out what all I had to do and how to do it. I fell back into a chair as Pudding dealt with the last few customers for the day.

"Thank goodness it's over. I can get out of here!" I mumbled to myself resting my hands on my face and putting my elbows on the table.

"What are you talking about? Get changed so we can start," Ryou said as I heard him walk up to the table.

Ryou dropped a bunch of books on the table, causing me to jump, and sat down across from me.

"Get started for what? I have to go…to… Oh, God, no. Please, don't tell me…" I said wide eyed as Ryou cocked an eyebrow and smirked, "But, how? How do you know Aunt and Uncle?!"

"Ryou and I had a little chat after you left the café yesterday," Mint said grinning as she walked up to us, "I remembered you saying how much you loved the café, so I thought I'd suggest Ryou as your tutor to Mother and Father."

Realization struck me hard.

"This is why you forgave me so easily," I whispered.

Mint placed her hand on the table and leaned towards me playfully whispering, "And this is why you don't keep secrets from me."

The other girls had huddled into a group and listened from afar as Mint's revenge had slowly unraveled.

"Uh, well, I gotta go, so…" Ichigo stated as she rushed to the locker rooms.

Each girl mumbled the same excuse as they ran off following Ichigo, except Zakuro, who just silently followed.

"Well, see you later tonight! Have a good study session!" Mint said smiling as she turned and walked to the locker rooms.

I sighed before responding, "Well played, Mint. Well played."


	8. Chapter 8

"Wrong. Do it over," Ryou said sliding the paper that was littered with one math proof back at me before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

I was so flustered that I couldn't even think of words that fit my anger right now. It had been a couple of hours since the girls all left and I had changed into my normal clothes. At first, the lesson was going great. We'd dabble a little bit in one subject before moving onto the next and I would have no problem understanding what he was saying. I noticed that with each topic he was exponentially increasing the difficulty. No doubt he was testing to see what my comprehensive skills were. I think he was almost enjoying it, like it seemed to be a challenge to try and stump me. He had been leaning forward, making direct eye contact, fully engaging his hands in gestures, and even scooted his chair closer whenever it seemed that I had understood his explanation of each concept. Then we arrived at math. It went downhill fast from there.

"But what's wrong? At what part did I mess up? What mistake do I keep on making?" I asked exasperated.

It seemed as soon as he had discovered my limits, he lost interest. _Great, in the subject I need the most help with he just gives up? What a wonderful tutor._

"You figure it out. It's your education." he replied dismissing me and staring at a window across the room.

My eyebrow twitched from holding back the urge to kick him in the face. I was so concentrated on my plan to burn an effigy in likeness of Ryou that I didn't notice Keiichiro cautiously walk up to us.

"Uh, well, maybe that should be enough for today. You could always try again later. Maybe when you're a bit…less frustrated," Keiichiro said nervously.

"Pfft, it's her fault for not understanding. But, if you want to give up, fine, just don't expect me to be easy on you next time," Ryou stated as he started to get up from his chair.

I was not about to let him have the gratification of frustrating and humiliating me like this. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down hard.

"I don't concede so easily," I said staring down his surprised eyes.

I let go of his wrist, grabbed my paper, scooted up closer to the table and heaved a giant sigh before re-examining everything I had written. _Okay, let's look at this again. Man, you got to love calculus and its proofs. The derivative of F(x) equals the limit as h approaches 0 of F(x+h)-f(x) divided by h. Now this equals…_ I slowly picked away at each step of the proof. Keiichiro sighed and wandered off to the back of the shop. I could feel Ryou raise his eyebrow the longer we stayed there, yet he didn't say a word. It was odd. For some reason he seemed much more pleasant, which worked to calm me down.

"There! Right there! I forgot an f(x)! Jeez, no wonder this wasn't working!"

I quickly scribbled to finish the proof.

"And there you have it. F'(x) = f'(x)g(x)+f(x)g'(x). Man, that took a lot longer than it should have," I said throwing my pencil onto the table and leaning back.

Ryou gave a small smirk, stood up from his chair, and started walking towards the kitchen.

"What? Aren't you going to check my work?" I asked turning in my chair to look at him.

"I don't need to. I can tell from your face that you figured out how it works now. That's the purpose. Coming?"

I didn't move at first, but then gave a bemused scoff and quickly followed behind him. We both walked into the kitchen where two plates and forks were set up next to each other on the kitchen island. Ryou walked up to the refrigerator and pulled out a medium sized ice cream cake.

"No way," I said brightening up instantly with a slight giggle.

The cake had a layer of silver icing. On top of the cake was a drawing of ambrosia etched in multi-colored icing.

"What? No cake?" Ryou asked smiling.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean I want it! I just can't believe you, or I guess I should say Keiichiro, made me an ice cream cake, especially with that design. Why?" I asked as Ryou set the cake on the island and cut me a piece.

I picked up my plate and leaned against the island while he cut himself a piece replying, "Well, you're right that Keiichiro made it. As far as the reason why goes, I'm not always…the easiest person to work with, yet you managed to persist and complete your lesson successfully."

"How did you know I would succeed?"

He turned his back to lean against the island like me before replying with a small smirk, "I just knew. You're actually a bit predictable."

I scoffed before sarcastically replying, "Well, jeez, thanks. Even the whole calculus fiasco?"

"I knew you wouldn't give up, but I'll admit I was a little surprised with how aggressive you were; you just grabbed me and pulled me down. I was impressed," Ryou said grinning.

"Pff. Is that supposed to be a joke?" I asked cocking an eyebrow and slightly smirking.

"Only stating the facts," Ryou replied before going to the refrigerator and pulling out a pitcher of lemonade, "Care for something to drink? This I actually made myself."

We spent a decent amount of time just slowly eating and chatting. Well, our "chatting" was more pulling wise cracks at each other, but it was amusing all the same. It was starting to get dark before we were finally done eating. He walked me down to the gate of the café and I turned towards him to say my goodbyes.

"You sure you're going to be okay? It's starting to get pretty dark," Ryou asked putting his hands in his pockets.

I chuckled.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'll be alright. I may be small and young, but I kind-of have an advantage over everyone."

"Alright, then. Great job. I know you had to go through a lot today. If you have any problems, let me know. I'll see you tomorrow when our real lessons start."

"Real lessons?"

"Like I said earlier, I'm not the easiest person to work with. I needed to gauge what your academic abilities. Now that I know, you can expect I'll be making you work harder from now on, and don't expect a special cake each time, either."

He gave me what I perceived as a small, evil smirk. _Oh, boy. This is going to be great; I can tell._ My eye twitched slightly just thinking about it.

I sighed and waved a hand, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryou nodded as I turned around and walked towards home saying, "Don't get lost."

I turned my face back towards Ryou looking at him wide-eyed. I suddenly realized that this would be my first attempt at finding the Aizawa estate alone. I was still terrible at getting lost in cities. Now I was adding in the night factor. _Knowing me, I'll get home at about dawn. _Ryou chuckled upon seeing my expression.

"I'll walk you home."

_Argh, this is embarrassing!_ Ryou as an escort was flustering. At first it was okay. We'd occasionally make a comment to each other, but for the most part we walked in silence. It was a comfortable silence, so I was fine with that. It was after I started walking in the wrong direction that I started feeling awkward and embarrassed. Each time I made a wrong turn, Ryou would just chuckle under his breath and stare at me until I realized he wasn't following and returned quickly back to him. Each time I made a mistake I'd get more embarrassed and more flustered. _Seriously, who can't find their own way back home__‽ _When we reached the estate, I quickly muttered a thank you and started walking through the gates. Ryou grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

I looked at him wide-eyed as he smirked and said, "You're going to have to give a better thank you than that after all the hassle you've caused me."

I looked down and gave a slight chuckle before looking back up at him and saying, "You're right. Thank you for everything today; I owe you a lot. I'll be sure not to be so helpless next time. After all, I'm supposed to be helping you guys, not be an extra burden."

Ryou released my wrist and put his hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll catch on eventually."

"Oh, ouch. You know, normally, the polite thing to say would be, 'You're not a burden!'"

"You made me walk you home."

"…Touché."

Ryou chuckled before turning around and walking away.

"Good night, Ambrosia."

"Night, Ryou."


End file.
